A jubilant Kevin De Bruyne made an incredible return from injury on Saturday as he inspired Manchester City to a late comeback win over Newcastle United at St James Park.
Bernardo Silva put the visitors ahead in the first half, but Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon scored with two terrific strikes in quick succession to take the lead before the interval.
The game flipped on its head when De Bruyne, making his first Premier League appearance in five months, came off the bench in the 69th minute.
It didn’t take long for the Belgian midfielder to find an equaliser for Man City, side footing the ball into the net from outside the area. He followed that up with a delicious assist for Oscar Bobb’s injury-time winner.
“I missed this,” De Bruyne told TNT Sports afterwards. “It is what it is, I had a big injury and I needed the time. I enjoyed myself. I think it was more willpower than anything else.
“It was crazy. I know I’m not able to do that for 90 minutes at the moment. I can put in a shift for 30 minutes at the moment. I feel it in my lungs, especially with the cold.
“It’s great to score the goal. The ball is good, but the run from Oscar [Bobb] is amazing. It was top from him. I look at his run. If he doesn’t run then I can’t pass the ball.”
On having to make a rare appearance as an impact substitute, he said: “I don’t know what to expect, I’ve never experienced this. I worked really hard and had to change a couple of things. When you play all of the time, it’s very hard to change things.
“I think to come here is always difficult. Everyone was really happy for me. We want to try and compete for the league again. We are up there. It was a tough game.”
De Bruyne is evidently delighted to be back after missing football for so long. “The beginning is a big blow but I’m not someone who stands still. I enjoyed myself being able to do things I could never do. I worked hard to come back.”
